NERD Game Scores for Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
New York NL at Baltimore | 19:05 ET
Syndergaard (105.2 IP, 81 xFIP-) vs. Jimenez (131.0 IP, 89 xFIP-)
There’s no way to measure it precisely, but it’s probably not entirely inaccurate to suggest that, among major-league fanbases, Mets’ supporters feature probably one of the greatest capacities for disappointment. Nor, it should be said, is their disappointment typically unwarranted. Indeed, despite benefiting from one of baseball’s largest markets, the club has qualified for the postseason only once since 2001. Whatever the sources of displeasure, however, rookie right-hander Noah Syndergaard is decidedly not among them. His combination of physical brilliance and actual performance conspires to produce a potent antidote to the club’s flagrant weakness.

With regard to whatever other trouble might afflict the Mets supporter, he or should ought to benefit from the wisdom contained in the following aphorism, care of Romanian pessimist Emil Cioran and found within in his text The Trouble with Being Born.

To be “happy” you must constantly bear in mind the miseries you have escaped. This would be a way for memory to redeem itself, since ordinarily it preserves only disasters, eager — and with what success! — to sabotage happiness.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: New York NL Television.

Two Brief Notes
Derek Holland’s Velocity
Texas left-hander Derek Holland is scheduled to record just his second major-league start of the season today. During that first one, back in April, Holland produced an average fastball velocity of just 86.6 mph. According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, meanwhile, Holland’s fastball was “regularly at 95 mph” during a recent rehab appearance.

Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Miami at Milwaukee, starts at 14:10 ET, and can be accessed by means of this hyperlinked text.

Complete Schedule
Here’s the complete and very sortable table for all of today’s games. Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and also the rest of the internet. Note that the calculations both for team and game NERD scores have changed recently to better integrate playoff odds into same. Read more about those adjustments here and here.

Away		SP	Tm.	Gm.	Tm.	SP		Home	Time
Ervin Santana	MIN	3	3	6	9	7	NYA	Nathan Eovaldi	13:05
Mi. Montgomery	SEA	5	3	5	5	7	TEX	Derek Holland*	14:05
Tom Koehler	MIA	3	4	4	3	4	MIL	Wily Peralta	14:10
Alex Wood	LAN	5	10	6	3	5	OAK	Jesse Chavez	15:35
Julio Teheran	ATL	5	2	4	3	8	SD	Tyson Ross	15:40
Robbie Ray	AZ	6	5	7	10	5	PIT	J.A. Happ	19:05
No. Syndergaard	NYN	10	6	7	8	6	BAL	Ubaldo Jimenez	19:05
Mark Buehrle	TOR	5	8	4	2	1	PHI	Adam Morgan	19:05
Corey Kluber	CLE	9	4	5	3	6	BOS	Joe Kelly	19:10
Jeremy Guthrie	KC	2	3	3	3	2	CIN	Key. Sampson	19:10
Matt Cain	SF	2	10	6	4	6	STL	Jaime Garcia	19:15
Daniel Norris	DET	2	3	5	8	7	CHN	Jon Lester	20:05
Nate Karns	TB	5	3	6	8	8	HOU	Dallas Keuchel	20:10
St. Strasburg	WAS	10	7	6	3	4	COL	Jorge de la Rosa	20:40
Jeff Samardzija	CHA	7	2	5	8	3	LAA	Jered Weaver	22:05

* = Fewer than 10 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.